column - HecklerSpray

HecklerPlay: In Praise Of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band

August 7th, 2012 By Mof Gimmers

In honour of the birthday of Legs Larry Smith, the man who manned the drumstool in the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, it only seems right that we should write about how brilliant Britain’s funniest band are.

Comedy and music? Does it make something awful run icily through your veins? Worry not, because the Bonzos were more than simple jesters.

Emerging in the stupid ’60s, the Bonzos were hip enough to ‘get it’ and smart enough to lampoon it, taking influence from the big groups of the time as well as tapping into the world’s penchant for the absurd and the archaic. Step forward, Britain’s finest Victorian Idiots Psychedelicists.

HecklerPlay: And A Very Festive Dubstep Christmas To You

August 7th, 2012 By Matthew Laidlow

Alongside all the presents and sherry we receive at this time of year, it's also a time of year where we have to put up with a variety of seasonal music. Why we only get terrible holiday songs at Christmas is a mystery to us. Surely someone would have exploited the magic of Jesus rising from the dead at Easter.

There isn't a happy medium with Christmas music. Traditional carols are essentially reserved for Church goers, or children who knock on your door and expect some sort of payment as their angelic attempts at singing fail miserably. As for people like Slade and The Pogues? They?re laughing all the way to the bank.

Younger children now associate X Factor with Christmas and for those left in limbo, there's really nothing there to inspire. Because all Christmas songs are essentially nothing but novelty records, someone has decided to at least merge the current popular sound of dubstep with a traditional seasonal image.

HecklerPlay: Want To Get Drunk? Then Listen To Loud Music

August 7th, 2012 By Matthew Laidlow

Here at hecklerspray, we love nothing more than a good rumour. It keeps us on our toes, and because we're just a bunch of immature morons, we?ll often add an extra layer to a story.

Sadly, some stuff is fact. So horribly correct and true that we can't run away from it.

Anyone who attends gigs or clubs for example will know all too well that loud music will have an effect on their hearing. Some say the sign of an ace night is a ringing in the ear the next day. But long term deafness? Even hipsters wouldn't go for that.

HecklerPlay ? A Tribute To The Big Brass Sound

August 7th, 2012 By Matthew Laidlow

So, it's Friday night and you're probably plotting what to do with your evening. Quite likely, it'll be the choice of three things. Either stay in with crap panel show on TV or shove in a DVD, go down the pub or, visit the local town centre to see what nightlife is on offer.

A lot of people opt for the clubs, places which can be confusing and a waste of time. You?ll either get some DJ?s who won't bother working the room and playing records depending on the crowd?s mood. Instead, they?ll drop tracks to suit themselves. Only superstars and overly paid DJ?s can do this. The humble pleb DJ who uses a copy of iTunes can't.

Back in the 1940?s and 50?s, the nightclub world didn't exist. Instead, the yoof back then attended a manner of concert halls to dance to a variety of swing and jazz. The songs weren't played on vinyl, but via live bands who made the experience more interesting by parping ’til their eyes popped.

HecklerPlay: Halloween Spotify Playlist

August 7th, 2012 By Mof Gimmers

The witching hour is upon us when the ghouls and creeps all come out and try doing perfectly normal things like drinking the brains from your skull and hiding things behind your eye-socket.

Brilliant.

Yep! It’s Halloween and it is time to dress up as ugly as possible (or, if you’re a loser, dress up in some sexy adaptation of a horror thing because you couldn’t possibly let your guard down long enough to actually have fun) and dance, dance, DANCE! And we’ve got just the thing for you. It’s a HALLOWEEN PLAYLIST!

HecklerPlay ? Guitars Are Evil And Kill The Rainforest

August 7th, 2012 By Matthew Laidlow

Music, it's such as innocent past time isn't it? What could be more pleasant than watching your favourite musician at a gig whilst sipping a warm beer in a plastic glass? Those inspired by what they hear will then go and buy their own instrument to be all creative.

If you're at school, you\’ll be asked to play the cello or the recorder. But the majority of people will opt for the humble guitar. After all, the instrument is iconic and used by everyone from tramps to hot-shot bands.

Because your parents will assume it's a phase you're going through, they won't actively purchase an expensive guitar. However, you might be able to play more than one chord and want a better instrument. One of the world's most famous makes is Gibson. You?d have thought they were a nice and friendly company. But no; they're as evil as McDonalds, H&M and the man near the hecklerspray bedsit.

HecklerPlay: Illegal Downloading Vs The Music Industry Drags On And On

August 7th, 2012 By Matthew Laidlow

Stealing singles or albums isn't a new concept for the music industry. Ever since the days of the cassette, anyone listening to the Top 40 could bootleg tracks off the radio in varying degrees of quality.

Unless you attempted to flog these DIY tapes down a car boot sale, you'd never be caught. For the more adventurous, HMV present a shop-lifting challenge for free physical content and a running contest against overweight security guards.

When the internet came along, the ability to get free music dramatically rocketed. Pioneering sites such as Napster and Soulseek allowed users around the world to share music files once a simple piece of software had been installed. Unlike recording songs via tape, a digital footprint could be traced back to users. This landed a few individuals in hot water and back in 2007 Joel Tenenbaum was one of 35,000 individuals sued by Recording Industry Association of America. And this case is dragging out… on and on and on…

Grunge Turns 20: When Fuzz Met Feelings

August 7th, 2012 By Mof Gimmers

Okay. Apparently, grunge is now 20 years old. Of course, grunge purists and musos will argue the toss over a whole host of dates which could signal the first flush of grunge, but everyone is agreeing on this one because it’s easier, okay?

And basically, like all grunge chat, it circles around Nirvana, who were smart enough to mix their fondness for pure pop and fuzz pedals, leaving a legacy that was, sadly for Kurt Cobain, filled with jocks like Limp Bizkit, who he so obviously loathed.

However, it goes without saying that there was so much more to grunge than Nevermind and Cobain’s suicide. Let us have a look back shall we?

HecklerPlay: Marc Bolan Dies, And So Too, Does Glam Rock

August 7th, 2012 By Mof Gimmers

On this day in 1977, the world lost T Rex mainman, Marc Bolan. He was killed instantly when he crashed his Mini into a tree in Barnes, London. As a result, pop lost one of it’s most outrageous attention-seekers and best frontmen.

Bolan is of course, best remembered for his stint up-front in the wonderfully overblown T Rex. Theatrics, boas and often impenetrable lyrics, Bolan went arm-in-arm with Bowie, forging a path for dandyish minstrels, leading a greying Britain on a merry dance through 3 minute pop and rock.

However, there was more to Bolan’s armoury than simply 20th Century Boy and Get It On.

Kate Bush Prompts The Question: Who Are The Laziest People In Music?

September 12th, 2011 By Mof Gimmers

Kate Bush is releasing an album and everyone is getting very, very excited. It’ll be out in November and will be called 50 Words For Snow. A Christmas album no less. How very, very thrilling.

That said, it may as well be called ’50 Words For Lazy’ as Kate isn’t exactly known to have a particularly good work ethic.

After a run of LPs in the late 70s and 80s, Kate put her feet up and released 4 albums (including this new one) in nearly 20 years. That’s impressively bone idle. And so, this got us thinking: Who are the laziest people in music? Which bands are so workshy that they can’t even be bothered to release music to their adoring fans?